Articles from Science for Environment Policy

Set-aside land improves farmland biodiversity in Hungary
Setting aside agricultural land remains an important method of promoting biodiversity in Central Europe, according to new Hungarian research. Results have indicated that, compared to winter cereal fields, set-aside land has greater plant and insect diversity. This supports the continuing use of set-aside policy in Central and Eastern Europe. Download article (PDF)

Combating `cod fraud´ in Europe
Higher public awareness of sustainable fishing practices, led by environmental NGOs, may have helped reduce the incidence of mislabelled fish in the UK, compared to Ireland, according to a recent study which assessed levels of fish fraudulently sold as `cod´ in these two countries. Download article (PDF)

Increasing green infrastructure ecosystem services in urban areas
A new model has been developed that could help metropolitan areas adapt to climate change by increasing ecosystem services provided by green spaces and farmland through calculating the percentage of evapotranspiring surface for different types of land use and the degree of fragmentation between ecosystems. To demonstrate how it works, researchers have applied this `land use suitability strategy´ model to an Italian municipality. Download article (PDF)

New tools to predict toxicity of fire retardants
Researchers have developed new tools to screen previously untested fire-retardant chemicals for potential toxicity. The tools - known as Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) models - could allow regulatory decisions to be made in the absence of experimental data, saving time and money by prioritising risk assessments for the most hazardous substances. Download article (PDF)

Methods for estimating importance of chemicals in occupational health
A new study examines different methods for assessing the health impacts of chemicals that people are exposed to at work. Combining two different approaches may help reduce the effect of the shortcomings of each approach and provide greater assurance that the most damaging chemicals are prioritised for regulatory action. Download article (PDF)